"A truly humble man does not think less of himself. He thinks of himself less." --Randy Vruggink For a long time was trying to figure out how to walk in genuine humility, being crucified with Christ without diminishing who I am in Christ, as his creation and re-creation. That quote seems to summarize the balance pretty well. We should not think that a Christ-centered life means that we insult ourselves or have a low opinion of ourselves. Doing so would contradict what the Lord says about us, that we are made in His image, a kingdom of priests, the light of the world, new creatures in Christ, the sons of God, etc... He made us who we are. However, whoever will be Jesus' disciple must deny himself, pickup his cross and follow him. Not I, but Christ lives in me. We think of ourselves less. Sometimes an overemphasis on "being crucified with Christ" can become counterproductive. If I'm always thinking, "Oooh, that person annoyed me, I'm just gonna have to die to self", I'm actually thinking about myself too much at that point. Focusing on all my faults that have to change can also be an example of thinking about self too much. However, if we are crucified with Christ, and He lives in us, we will focus on God first, then other people second. We will be concerned more with others and with His kingdom, not so much our own "spirituality". Beth Moore calls it "living beyond yourself". Outward focus rather than self focus. I think that sums it up pretty well.
"Humility is to make a right estimate of one's self." ~ Charles H. Spurgeon I think one could also say that humility comes from making the right estimate of who God is; for when we see Him as He is, any comparison leaves us with so much to be desired. "Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom." Spurgeon
"O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel." ~Jeremiah 18:6 "It is not a noble task, being clay. There is no glamour to it, nothing boastworthy, except that it is exactly what Almighty God is looking for. Compliant, moldable, yielded clay." ~Henry Blackaby
Quote of the day by Vance Havner. Charles H. Spurgeon dared to say, “Many would unite church and stage, cards and prayer, dancing and sacraments. If we are powerless to stem this torrent, we can at least warn men of its existence and entreat them to stay out of it.” A. J. Gordon dared to say, “The notion having grown up that we must entertain men in order to win them to Christ, every invention for world-pleasing which human ingenuity can devise has been brought forward till the churches have been turned into play-houses and there is hardly a carnal amusement that can be named from billiards to dancing which does not find a nesting place in Christian sanctuaries. Is it then Pharisaism or pessimism....to predict that at the present fearful rate of progress, the close of this century may see the Protestant church as completely assimilated to nineteenth-century secularism as the Roman Catholic church was assimilated to fourth-century paganism?” We smile at that today, but we are not overstocked with Spurgeons and Gordons. Augustine told us long ago how this marriage of the professing church and the world came about. “It seemed good to our leaders,” he declared, to favor the weakness of pagan converts so that heathen festivals were joined with Christian holy days “which they might celebrate with similar luxury though not with the same impiety.” The same strategy prevails to this day on the old argument that the end justifies the means. This, of course, bits into the program of a modernized Catholicism and an apostate Protestantism in the world church of the last days.
If you are not criticized, you may not be doing much. ~Donald H. Rumsfeld~
If your name is not recognized, does that mean that you didn't do much? ( I had to Google him to see who he was, I did know after getting my memory jolted) I hope he doesn't turn out to be another Robert McNamara. (He was the Secretary of Defense during Vietnam, who later admitted in a book that much of what was portrayed to the American public was political 'spin' and what really was behind the Vietnam War.) But then again, I had a more vested interest in what was happening while McNamara was in power, like being drafted to go fight in that political war. I'd imagine those who went to Iraq and Afghanistan are familiar with Rumsfeld.
I`m not sure. Does the McNamara situation qualify for "Do some thing even if it`s wrong?"
Probably, that or he had the mindset of 'full speed ahead and let tomorrow take care of tomorrow'. I think the 'tell-all' book was kind of like a death bed confession where he tried to clear his conscience. ( hope he was successful)
"Grace is receiving mercy when you deserve justice." ~author unknown
Amen Dont want none of that justice stuff.
Quote of the Day We have come all the way from burning hearts to itching ears, from “Amen” to “So what?” Vance Havner
Wow Grandom, in 17 words the state of what has happened to many in the church is summed up. Thank you for sharing this, it is certainly something to ponder.
It breaks my heart Sage but unfortunately it is the state of a lot of christians today.
"To escape the error of salvation by works we have fallen into the opposite error of salvation without obedience." A.W.Tozer
"Know Doctrine, No Deception. No Doctrine, Know Deception." author: unknown (by me...)
Eccl 1:9 There is no new thing under the sun.. Unfortunately there is a lot of old things we havent learned.
The fact that the gospel is not popular is all the more reason for preaching it. The very fact that men cannot endure sound doctrine is all the more reason for seeing that they get it. It is not our responsibility to make it acceptable; it is our duty to make it available. Vance Havner
Amen grandom! His grace and mercy is everlasting. We are all here for you spiritually, whatever the need.
Final Epitaph... Supposedly this was found written on a grave marker... "Remember friend as you pass by, As you are now, so once was I. As I am now thus you must be, So be prepared to follow me." Beneath was latter added... "To follow you I'm not content, until I know which way you went." author unknown
William made a statement on another thread that for some reason reminded me of a line from a poem written many years ago. He said, to the effect, we need to look at the 'big picture' when facing adversity and start believing what God has said. He used I Corinthians 10:13 as a reminder and to encourage the reader. "Next time something doesn't go exactly to your 'confession of faith', remember that..." and he quotes I Corth.10:13 (and I was paraphrasing what he said) It reminded me of Rudyard Kipling's poem titled 'IF', and the line I thought of was... "If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat these two imposters just the same;" Not putting an English poet's words on par with The Word of God, just thought it was a good quote with much wisdom...actually much of the poem gives some wise advice. That is what faith works in a believer, to trust God whether we're on top of the mountain, or feel as though the mountain is on top of us. Big picture? Look to Jesus, not at the circumstances, good or bad. "...God is faithful..."
Great thoughts James, I think that being an overcomer is largely dependent on how we view the 'big picture', i.e. Rm 8:28. The more our theology grasps hold of the concept of the sovereignty of God the more settled we are when the trials come our way. Early on in our walk with God we are overwhelmed with doubts about everything from our position in Christ to our own failings. These things are not conducive to a vibrant walk of faith. Later on, after we've 'come to ourselves' (Lk 15:17) we realize that--we are His--He chose us. We didn't come into this experience by our own dogged determination. He chose us just like he chose the twelve and we stand because he is able to make us stand. It's cliched but the saying "God is for us, not against us" becomes a settling factor in our faith. (I'm not talking about someone with a heart of disobedience here!) A settled heart is not swayed by the vacillations of circumstances--good or bad-- but fixated upon the God who cannot change (and thankfully for us, does not make mistakes!). Anyway... I heard recently that Rudyard Kipling was a christian which made me want to look into some of his writings. I probably should have known more about him already, but I was guilty of 'racial profiling' based upon his name... to me it sounded like some Indian guru, and I wasn't about to dedicate any of my time to a 'guru' of any kind--much less one that wrote poetry! Blessings, William
moulder wrote on Mon, 30 May 2011 09:36 A settled heart is not swayed by the vacillations of circumstances--good or bad-- but fixated upon the God who cannot change (and thankfully for us, does not make mistakes!). Amen! Quote: Anyway... I heard recently that Rudyard Kipling was a christian which made me want to look into some of his writings. I probably should have known more about him already, but I was guilty of 'racial profiling' based upon his name... to me it sounded like some Indian guru, and I wasn't about to dedicate any of my time to a 'guru' of any kind--much less one that wrote poetry! I'm not much for poetry, but I had to memorize that poem in grade school and it stuck with me...along with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
There is a trend today that would put a new robe on the prodigal son while he is still feeding hogs. Some would put the ring on his finger while he still in the pigsty. Others would paint the pigsty and advocate bigger and better hog pens.
There's SO much to be gleaned from witty quotes; witty, yet with hidden truths within... "Never trust quotes from off the internet. " ~ Abraham Lincoln
james wrote on Fri, 23 September 2011 09:28 Never trust quotes from off the internet.Abraham Lincoln Okay James... Eevrybody knows Al Gore invented the internet. That`s a long time after old Abe died...
I dreamed that I walked down the street of a town-it could have been any town-and came to a church-it could have been almost any church. The congregation was singing “Onward, Christian Soldiers,” and if there had been one more verse they might have sung themselves to sleep. The text was, “All things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23). I said to myself, “If they really believe this, it will be interesting to see what happens after the benediction.” After the sermon they sang “Rescue the Perishing” and I could hardly wait to see them start rescuing the perishing. But nothing happened. Someone made a remark about the weather and when I asked “But when do you start rescuing the perishing?” He looked at me in alarm and hurried away. As I walked down the street there walked beside me One whom I did not recognize at first. I asked Him, “Do they always act like this at church?” Then I knew who He was when He said, sadly, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Vance Hafner
I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; forgiveness without repentance; salvation without regeneration; politics without God; and Heaven without Hell. Written by William Booth the first general of the Salvation army in the 1800`s.
"Because you see...You don't walk in the light, and wish you hadn't."~Tom Hamilton Taken from a message titled,"Can You Believe?" 11-20-2011 I found this statement to linger in my mind and provoke thought. He was speaking of situations and testimonies of people walking by faith and obeying the 'light' we were given, back in the earlier days of our walk in Christ. Brothers quiting jobs that conflicted with being a follower of Jesus, and now looking back seeing how The Lord has rewarded their obedience. A brother who sold his mortgaged home to obey the biblical principle of not owing and borrowing(though in the natural it looked foolish<he had a house payment of $200 and after selling the house he had to pay rent of $400> but The Lord blessed him and now he has a payed for home without going into debt to get it.) The point was, if you/me/we were acting out our faith by choices you/we made, then if it was The Lord(light/understanding/revelation) then there are no regrets; and if you are looking back and wishing you hadn't taken certain actions, that would be an indicator that it wasn't The Lord to begin with...or you weren't in faith and was doing it out of peer pressure or the flesh. What God initiates in our lives for us to do/follow/obey, works for our good and we aren't left regretting the decisions. <my summation>
"If you don’t become a reconciler of the lost, you will become an evaluator of the saved. There is something inherent in our new nature that wants to see people get right with God and if we don’t direct it at the lost, we will direct it at the saved - and instead of pursuing sinners you will spend your time policing the saints. All of us have been called to be "fishers of men" but when those who are called to fish don’t fish, they fight. When energy that was meant to be used outside the church is used inside the church the result is explosive. Instead of casting nets, we cast stones. Instead of reaching the lost, we become critics of the saved. Instead of extending helping hands, we point accusing fingers. Instead of helping the hurting, we hurt the helpers - and sadly the lost go unreached, the poor go unfed, and the confused go unconsoled. But, when those who are called to fish, fish, they flourish. Souls are reached, lives are changed and the world is impacted." Author Unknown
Mercy... "To receive mercy we must first know that God is merciful. And it is not enough to believe that He once showed mercy to Noah or Abraham or David and will again show mercy in some happy future day. We must believe that God's mercy is boundless, free and, through Jesus Christ our Lord, available to us now in our present situation." A.W.Tozer
"This hill, though high, I covent to ascend; The difficulty will not me offend. For I perceive the way of life lies here, Come, pluck up, heart; let's neither faint nor fear." -John Bunyan, The Pilgrims Progress
Something to ponder... I heard this 'blonde' joke from a preacher this weekend and his point wasn't to be funny or to make the pulpit like unto a standup comedy theater, but rather cause the listener to think about how lame some of our excuses are when we try to justify ourselves before The Lord; we've often deceived ourselves into believing something that others can so easily see right through as just plain dumb... So this blonde goes into the pizza place and orders a pizza, the guy brings it out and asks if she'd like it cut into 8 pieces or 12. " Oh my goodness, make it 8, I can't possibly eat 12 pieces." No, it wasn't Joel Osteen...lol
I appreciate the reminder about justifying ourselves before the Lord. It is so easy to use some excuse, or twist words to make it seem like what I say or did is okay, where in reality it isn't. I believe this would be a form of self deception. Sometimes we also do it with people, make excuses for doing something or not doing something. We can say, I didn't have time. But did we really not have time or was that just an excuse to say I didn't really want to do it. Reminds me of a scripture: Psalm 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strenght, and my redeemer."
Sage wrote on Tue, 29 May 2012 21:44 Psalm 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strenght, and my redeemer." Amen! I usually pray this scripture each morning... and HE is faithful to help me in walking out that desire.
10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10 (KJV)
"He who cannot forgive another breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself." George Hubert
This quote comes from an article I read on Andrew Strom's website concerning a 'prophetic word' from Billy Graham dealing with repentance for America and the wrath/judgment of God. Graham who is now 93 years old recently wrote a letter titled, "My Heart Aches for America", and in it he quotes his late wife, Ruth as saying once... " If God doesn't punish America, He'll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah." Of course we know God is just and righteous and doesn't 'need' to apologize to anyone for anything, but the point she is trying to make is obivious, America is more wicked than even Sodom and Gomorrah...how on earth do people who profess to be born-again and have ever read God's Word think any differently? Yet continually we see 'right-wing'/moral majority/'conservative'/patrotic/flag waving...christians; declaring the best is yet to come. That somehow God is going to turn a blind eye to the corruption and wickedness of this nation and rain down blessings like never before... Mercy, LORD
This quote was made in reference to Christians pressing in in their walk with God to overcome and obey, and what will happen when God's Word isn't heeded or harkened to. Deuteronomy 28:1-2&15 "Lack of determination will result in termination"
"The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions." A.W.Tozer
He also loves us enough to spank His own too.
I read this quote on another Christian website that was discussing the condition of the 'church' today, especially here in America. "No one looks to the Bible as the authority for Christian actions! The opinions of men, and not the authority of God prevails throughout Churchanity." 'Chuck'
"The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever." A.W.Tozer~'The Pursuit of GOD'
"Knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit... Wisdom is not putting them in a fruit salad." ~unknown
"Whoever defends himself will have himself for his defense, and he will have no other. But let him come defenseless before The Lord and he will have for his defender no less than God Himself." ~A.W.Tozer "The Pursuit of God"
OK.....Dealing with the witch craft in my family. This battle is so strong. I know in Whom I believe. I was struggling with this very issue. I now have my answer and reminder. The battle is not mine, but His! I have had two dreams and a vision about the principalities in this region. Oh, Jesus! Thank you for body ministry! Your delivering powers are mighty to behold!
Forgiveness... "Forgiveness is what I do today about yesterday for tomorrow."
"The secret of the Christian's passion is simple: Everything we do in life we do it as to The Lord and not to men." "Integrity is keeping a commitment even after circumstances have changes." ~David Jeremiah~
A. W. Tozer on the philosophy of the Bible: "I have Plato and Aristotle and Shopenhauer and Thomas Aquinas and almost all the other philosophers of the ages on the shelves of my library but if I had to do it I would part with them all and keep the 23d Psalm alone. There is more for my soul in the 23d Psalm than there is in Plato and Aristotle and Shpenhauer and Spinoza and all the rest of them. They said some pretty good things but they didn't say "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want" and "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." From his sermon "The Word Of God"
Resolution One: "I will live for God." Resolution Two: "If no one else does, I still will." ~Jonathan Edwards
I heard a minister on TV say this concerning giving God thanks, praise, and worship... " We're not told to thank, praise, and worship God because we feel good; but because He IS good."
" Never tolerate, because of sympathy for yourself or for others, any practice that is not in keeping with a holy God, Holiness means absolute purity of your walk before God, the words coming from your mouth, and every thought in your mind-placing every detail of your life under the scrutiny of God Himself. Holiness is not simply what God gives me, but what God has given me that is being exhibited in my life." ~Oswald Chambers
"The holier a man becomes, the more he mourns over the unholiness that remains in him." ~Charles Spurgeon
In Bancroft's "Christian Theology: Systematic and Biblical" under Soteriology: The Doctrine of Salvation and the methods of sanctification, one being study of scripture and the pursuit of holiness, he says: "The BOOK will separate you from sin, or sin will separate you from The BOOK."
"Grace should not make obedience optional. When God removes good works as a condition for His acceptance, He does not remove righteousness as a requirement for life." Quoted from a book I started reading today by Bryan Chapell, titled: Holiness by Grace
I found this to be interesting.... "When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense, Therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning Unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and Of axiomatic and fundamental truths indicate clearly otherwise." Or: "If the plain sense makes good sense seek no other sense lest it result in nonsense. "
"True repentance never exists except in conjunction with faith. Sorrow for sin, not simply on account of its evil consequences to the transgressor, but on account of its intrinsic hatefulness as opposed to divine holiness and love, is practically impossible without some confidence in God's mercy. It is the Cross which first makes us truly penitent(John 12:32-33). Hence, all true preaching of repentance is implicitly a preaching of faith, and repentance toward God involves faith in The LORD Jesus Christ." ~Bancroft's Christian Theology
I was watching a news interview with a spokesperson representing the search teams that are looking for the downed Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 jet. He made this statement responding to a reporters question on how hard it is to find any signs of the Boeing 777 airplane in the vast southern Indian Ocean; the "Black Box" supposedly only gives off signals for 30 to 40 days. "It's nothing like finding a needle in a haystack!!!... We can't even locate the haystack."
james wrote on Tue, 25 March 2014 10:33 I was watching a news interview with a spokesperson representing the search teams that are looking for the downed Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 jet. He made this statement responding to a reporters question on how hard it is to find any signs of the Boeing 777 airplane in the vast southern Indian Ocean; the "Black Box" supposedly only gives off signals for 30 to 40 days. "It's nothing like finding a needle in a haystack!!!... We can't even locate the haystack." The only thing I can say is that it seems like there is an awful lot of junk floating around in the Indian Ocean. They keep spotting stuff that turns out to be something else besides the plane. That must of been horrible, flying to your death and not even knowing it.
In Seattle, you haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while its running. Jeff Bezos
"Grace is the pleasure of God to magnify the worth of God by giving sinners the right and power to delight in God without obscuring the glory of God." "The wisdom of God devised a way for the love of God to deliver sinners from the wrath of God while not compromising the righteousness of God." John Piper
"It's easier to saved a man from his sins than from his righteousness." Charles Spurgeon "The worst of disorders is believing one is whole and in need of no help." anonymous
"It's easier to saved a man from his sins than from his righteousness." Wow, may become my favorite quote
"God without man is God, but man without God is nothing." "Feelings come and feeling go, and feelings are deceiving; My warrant is the Word of God, naught else is worth believing. Though all my heart should feel condemned for want of some sweet token, There is One greater than my heart Whose Word cannot be broken. I'll trust in God's unchanging Word til soul and body sever; For though all things shall pass away, His Word shall stand forever."
Thank you James, for continuing to write encouraging & uplifting thoughts. I believe the enemy would have us in `doom & gloom,` whereas your heart says `thankfulness.` I also believe the enemy would try & influence & inflame our feelings to try & make us think it is just `life.` But you have encouraged that He is well able to `present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.` Bless you brother in the Lord. Marilyn.
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."John 10:10 Satan's purpose is the destruction of man, as his time grows shorter and shorter his attacks grow more intense, especially upon Christians. May no one reading this think they're alone in these attacks against the mind, emotions, and body. Anyway he can gain a foothold, he will...we must resist him in the power of The Name of Jesus and the power of His shed Blood, The Word of God, and with our testimony.(we need ALL the armour of God) It would be so easy to give up(and in and of myself I probably would)but by His Grace we can't. One of the reasons for body ministry is so when one is feeling down or discouraged, The Lord by His Holy Spirit, will use another to encourage, edify, admonish, and remind us "not to forget", to "take heed", "to behold the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ", and to "rejoice in The Lord always". I don't pretend to have full understanding as to all the ways of God, but I know that usually what I post trusting to be from The Lord, for the edification of others, is what He has been dealing with me on and encouraging me with...we're never alone, we all go through battles, daily. What we must remember is this, the enemy is defeated, death has lost its sting, victory is ours...all because of God's Grace revealed in Christ Jesus' atoning work at Calvary. This was suposed to be just 'good quotes'.<grin>... May God be Glorified in ALL the earth...
Hi James, I so agree about those attacks from the enemy. Thank you for highlighting that for us. I often think we may not see each other in this life but one day we will all know & see each other forever. Ooooooooo
"I have never met the man I could despair of after discerning what lies in me apart from the grace of God." ~Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
I've lived a really good life, I just wished I would of realized it sooner. Author Unknown
"If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself." ~Augustine of Hippo~
"It is God's Word, not our comment on God's Word, that saves souls. Souls are slain by the sword, not by the scabbard, nor by the tassels which adorn the hilt of it. If God's Word be brought forward in its native simplicity, no one can stand against it. The adversaries of God must fail before the Word as chaff perishes in the fire. Oh, for wisdom to keep closer and closer to that which the mouth of The Lord hath spoken." Charles H. Spurgeon
"Circumstances do not define who we are as much as our response to them does. Our reaction to life transmits our 'light on a hill', which either points others toward God, or away from Him. We squeeze fruit in order to reveal and enjoy the juice inside. But what is revealed from within us when we as Christians get 'squeezed' with hardships, pain, or injustice? Do we react with the same anger, selfishness, and strife that is norm in this world? Or, does our response reveal the fruit of the Spirit?" taken from Sunday's study guide at church
I consider the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; forgiveness without repentance; salvation without regeneration; politics without God; and Heaven without Hell. General William Booth
"God is dead." Nietzsche, 1883 "Nietzsche is dead." -God, 1900
Something I heard this morning on TBN by a man during their annual money raising event, after he had made his plea for donations...as best I can recall. "I wish I could tell you that by giving to this ministry it would get you to heaven, but I can't because it won't...But I can say that it could get someone else there." I thought that was an interesting statement, especially coming from someone on TBN where the false prosperity message has been propagated so often...This guy might not be invited back...then again...
james wrote on Tue, 19 July 2016 08:58 Something I heard this morning on TBN by a man during their annual money raising event, after he had made his plea for donations...as best I can recall. "I wish I could tell you that by giving to this ministry it would get you to heaven, but I can't because it won't...But I can say that it could get someone else there." I thought that was an interesting statement, especially coming from someone on TBN where the false prosperity message has been propagated so often...This guy might not be invited back...then again... 38 Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” Quote: but I can't because it won't...But I can say that it could get someone else there." I don't know if God needs money to bring salvation to someone. He knows the number of hairs on every persons head. I cannot imagine the Apostles spending endless hours using fund raisers to get the "Word" out. If anything this just shows how far men have strayed from the gospel, and the realization that the "Ancient of Days", is "God". I think, we can "think", we know how great God is but I don't know if we truly "know" how Great He really is. In other words someone who can create a whole universe is a lot larger then what we can even fathom. Hope this makes sense! Gary
Yep'em...makes sense to me. He, God, The Great I AM, even knows when and how many, 'hairs' fall from our heads...
"Be killing sin or it will be killing you." John Owen (1616-1683) A Puritan theologian in England who wrote a small book (86 pages) on 'Mortification of Sin in Believers' from Romans 8:13
Love... "True love is not influenced by the closeness of the friend, by the advantage of his favors, or by the standing of his connections; nor is it influenced by the perverseness of an enemy. It abhors evil, and censures it or flees from it, whether in father or mother, brother or sister, or in any other." Martin Luther c. 1520
I heard these encouraging words said this morning by a guest pastor at worship assembly. "If Jesus was here today using social media as a tool to proclaim His Gospel, would He use Facebook or Twitter? Twitter, because twitter has 'followers' whereas Facebook allows one to 'like' what's being said. One is take it or leave it, the other requires commitment to 'follow'." "Coming to church no more makes you a Christian than sitting in a garage makes you a car." "Trusting in God doesn't mean that you'll be sheltered from the conflicts of life; it mean that He will be with you in the midst of conflict." All this was from a encouraging message taken from the text of Psalms 23. The benefits of having The LORD as our shepherd, the one we follow, who leads us. But also He's the one who's with us when we go through valleys in life (He'll never leave or forsake us). The more we know Him and experience Him, have relationship with Him, the easier it is to trust Him...in all things. He promises that surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell with Him forever.
"This is what Grace does. It rescues us from our spiritual blindness. It releases us from our bondage to our rationalism and materialism. Grace gives us the faith to be utterly assured of what we cannot see. It frees us from refusing to believe in anything we cannot experience with our physical senses. But grace does more. It connects us with the invisible One in an eternal love relationship that fills us with joy we have never known before and gives us rest of heart that we would have thought impossible. And that grace is still rescuing us, because we still tend to forget what is important, real, and true. We still tend to look at the physical world for our comfort. We still fail to remember in given moments that we really do have a heavenly Father. Grace has done a wonderful thing for us and continues to do more and more." Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional
"Too often, as believers, we are crying out to God about our hardships, when we should be crying out about the sins in our lives." unknown
"We forget that God's primary goal is not changing our situations and relationships so that we can be happy; but changing us through our situations and relationships so that we will be holy." -Paul David Tripp, Instruments in The Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change
"Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It's a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions." ~John Piper "Let the people praise Thee, O God; let ALL the people praise Thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for Thou shalt judge the people righteously..." Ps. 67:3-4
I’m going to a men’s Bible study and we’re going through J I Packers book “Knowing God”. Here is a quote from a chapter on “Thy Word Is Truth” “Truth in the Bible is a quality of persons primarily, and of proposition only secondarily. It means stability, reliability, firmness, trustworthiness, the quality of a person who is entirely self-consistent, sincere, realistic, undeceived. God is such a person: truth, in this sense, is his nature, and he has not got it in him to be anything else. That is why he cannot lie(Titus 1:2; Heb 6:18;). That is why his words to us are true, and cannot be other than true. They are the index of reality: they show us things as they really are, and as they will be for us in the future according to whether we heed God’s words to us or not.”
“Hope is borrowing the joy of tomorrow today .”
I saw a girl wearing a tee-shirt today that said, JESUS leaving the 99 sounds crazy... til YOU are that 1 there was a lamb pictured beneath the caption Thank You Jesus; I'm one of the 1's He came for... The suffering He endured, the agony of physical pain, the death He willing yielded to; all for sinners who had turned their backs and rebelled against God (most yet unborn). But the grave could not hold Him...He is risen and He is returning once again to gather together those who are His; purchased by His blood, a sinless, spotless lamb, sacrificed to appease the wrath of God against sin. Your's and mine... Easter has absolutely nothing to do with rabbits or eggs, new clothes or big meals....But you knew that Matthew 28:6 Romans 5:8
I heard Louie Giglio share this in a teaching on healing; both spiritual, physical, and emotional... “We’re not healed by focusing on our own wounds; we’re healed when we focus on Jesus’ wounds”
"Faith that fizzles before the finish was flawed from the first " D L Moody
"GET Over It. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow (if it come) is a mystery. Today is the present we have from the Lord." --Grandom
"To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing ". Martin Luther
I heard this quote in a teaching on God's love for us and how He desires us to turn to Him in repentance when we sin. " Religion: "I messed up, my dad's gonna kill me!" Gospel: "I messed up, I need to call my Father."